Well-Adjusted Citizens,

Today is the last day of the Edinburgh Fringe (nicely planned, I know), and tonight I will play my last of 24 consecutive shows, followed by a post-partum rest. A few hours ago I was on a different kind of stage, being presented with an impressively titled Three Weeks Editor's Choice Award including a photo and framed plaque. The biggest festival reviewing newspaper Three Weeks chooses the ten events, shows, or performers that made the fringe special each year, and this year I was one. Being selected as one special thing out of ten may not seem like a great honour, but there are over two thousand shows competing for attention at the Fringe this year.

Here is the Three Weeks review that led to the Award.

I have been rubbish (UK-ism) at keeping up with email during this festival, due to the constant welcome distractions provided. Our daily routine for the past month has been to wake up each day at around noon (or sometimes 3 pm, depending on the night before), and proceed to the local coffee shop for beverages, internet, and breakfast (I'm here right now, 4:30 pm, right on schedule). Then we prepare and hand out flyers for a few hours each afternoon, and get ready for our shows. Aaron has had about a dozen gigs at various times over the past three weeks, some at theatres and some at bars and cafés, and I have been performing The Rap Canterbury Tales every night at 8:45. When the shows are all finished around 10 pm we head out on the town for the smorgasbord of cabaret, dancing, theatre, live music, comedy, and nightclubs that are available around the city until 5 am every night, often ushering in the dawn as we walk home, and the next day we do it all again. In the (purloined) words of Jay-Z, it's a hard knock life for us.

How can I still be having fun doing the same thing I was doing three years ago? Well, this year I changed up my strategy and starting working more and more improvisation into my act, turning it into a spontaneous comedy play. For me, this has been the Freestyle Fringe. In the first week of the festival, Erik challenged me to experiment with the script every day (he said he'd die of boredom tech-ing the same exact show twenty four more times), so I have been doing my best to surprise him with new twists and improv dialogue in each show. We have also included a segment where the audience fills out short surveys in the lobby before the show, writing down phrases and words that they associate with rap and Chaucer. Then, at the end of the show, Erik projects the responses onto a screen on stage, and I extemporize everyone's ideas into a live freestyle rap as an epilogue.

The reputation I got for doing this freestyle outro in the show quickly spread to the official Fringe radio station, Festival FM, and on the fourth day of the festival they brought me in for an interview and got me to freestyle live on air. It went so well that they offered me a regular slot reading the nightly 8 o'clock news as a freestyle rap. So for the past three weeks I have stopped in at the radio station on my way to perform every evening, and they have prepared a list of the day's headlines, finding the quirkiest and most bizarre items of news to try to challenge me. Then they hand me the list of headlines and with no rehearsal or preparation I put them into rhyme live on air. This regular stunt has earned me a cult following with the festival media people, and we even brought the camera in to film one of the news sessions. You can watch the YouTube video here:

The result of all this experimentation and creative development, I'm happy to announce, has been a critical smash at this year's fringe. I was reviewed five times by various papers and websites and never got less than four stars out of five, with one five star review and two Critic's Choice picks. For those of you who are currently feeling nauseated by all this saccharine positivism, you will surely appreciate the final words of the Three Weeks review: if he wasn't so likeable, he'd be almost sickening. Erik takes issue almost every day with this affront, especially when I get on his case... -likeable? ha!-

Here's some more of what the critics are saying:

Fest Review:

Review

FringeReview.com Review:

In a few days I-m on my way back down to Brighton and London to do some more recording with my UK hip-hop affiliates, then to Brisbane, Australia on September 6th. The Brisbane Writer's Festival has organized a writer's retreat for the week preceding their events. This entails flying all of the featured writers to an island off the coast, where we will be put up in cabins and left to our own devices for four days in the middle of a national park. Fringe benefits.

Hope you have all had a similarly spectacular summer, and wish me luck on the hard road ahead.

baba

Image from babsword.com

Where burgers are concerned, I'm pure Jughead: 'Give me one of those, and one of those, and one of those, too.' Would I like fries with that? Yes, of course I would! And I want a milkshake, too.

My newspaper told me a while ago that Vancouver's landmark Fresgo Inn on Davie Street has closed. Closed! Not only has it closed, it has been replaced by a performance venue/restaurant/lounge featuring burlesque acts by drag queens, oh my. Thirty years of Fresgo's erased just like that.

At least two generations of youngsters stumbled (or sometimes tumbled) into Fresgo's at 2 AM to devour mushroom burgers and vast mounds of fries. I was one of them way back when, and my memories of Fresgo's are all enjoyable, if somewhat indistinct. If I can't go there anymore, where shall I go, then?

I set off for Wally's Burgers, out on Kingsway in deepest East Van, eager for a Deluxe Wagon Burger, some fries, and a milkshake. Wally's is a classic 1950s drive-in burger joint, perhaps the last such remaining here. I found that Wally's, alas, is on its last legs: the vintage neon sign is being dismantled; there are no milkshakes available, and no pop machines, either. These last have been replaced by a generic Pepsi cooler.

The Deluxe Wagon burger remains, though: a wonderfully sloppy construction featuring two patties in a big bun (with condiments and secret sauce). But the amount of fries has been reduced by half, and there weren't too many customers present. I was pleased, though, to see two guys show up in a heavily customized muscle car: a reminiscence of Wally's hot rod past as the cool place to be.

Times change, I realize, and if we're losing or about to lose the classic old burger joints, who is replacing them? And what's the new approach to selling the time-honoured burger + fries + milkshake combo?

Some Googling to find Vancouver's latest and greatest burger joints yielded a few contenders, so I applied bike tires to pavement to investigate each in turn.

Vera's Burger Shack (various locations)

A truly tasty big burger, and a friendly method of ordering: they ask for your name, and then yell for you when your order is ready. But the location on Main Street (at 14th Ave) has appalling ambience. The only tables are picnic tables, otherwise you must sit on a stool at a narrow shelflike bar; there's a giant-screen television dominating the room showing idiotic sports like wrestling or stock car racing; and the only beverages available are pop, juice, or bottled water. Go here only for takeout, like most other people do.

Burgers Etc (North Burnaby)

A cozy little cafe on Hastings near Gilmore, also with big yummy burgers. Table seating is available, with servers, and a standard burger with fries and a pop (no milkshakes, no coffee or tea, but they do have a liquor license) cost me $10.34. Not bad at all, I thought. A delicious burger (etc), but the music's too loud. I'd go back if they turned the volume down and offered me some coffee. How hard is it make coffee? Or, for that matter, to make a milkshake?Hamburger Mary's (1202 Davie Street, Vancouver)

Hamburger Mary's has graced Vancouver's West End since 1979, serving up burgers that are 1/3 of a pound of chopped beef steak (other meats are available, along with chicken and salmon), well-garnished, and with a tasty barbecue sauce. Fries are included in the price printed on the menu, AND they have milkshakes, coffee and tea, and an outdoor patio. And a liquor license. And soup. And they're right downtown. And they're open til 3 AM. What's not to like here? My vote goes to Hamburger Mary's, long may she prosper.

image from baba's myspace.com site

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Creative Capacities,

The prodigal son of the Fringe has returned home, to Edinburgh that is. I'm writing from a packed cafe on the rainy official first day of the largest and greatest arts festival in the world. I turned my back on the Fringe last year, opting instead to record my 'Lit-Hop' album and stay in B.C. for the summer. But the Fringe is a forgiving family, and it looks like they're taking me back, and it's a great place to be.

I had my first preview show on Friday, and it was pretty nearly a disaster, with the redeeming factor that no one in the audience seemed to be aware of everything that was going precipitously wrong, or if they were aware they laughed it off due to my ad-libbing through it. The reason for the cock-up was the recent addition of animated visuals to my performance. We are now projecting Erik's illustrations from the book onto a screen on stage while I perform the show, and the technical logistics of mixing the lighting with the visuals and sound has been challenging, but yesterday's show was much improved for fluidity (and I had about fifty people in), and tonight the show ran like a well oiled Olympian.

If you want to see an example of the new animated tales, you can watch one of them on YouTube here.

The other action at the Fringe this year is the rise of Aaron Ross, Vancouver's next folk music hero (mark my words). Today he performed his world debut show to a healthy crowd of forty-five or so, and one hour later he had forty-five appreciative fans. We sold a pile of Aaron's CDs afterwards, and he had a reviewer in as well, so we'll see what the critics think of him next. But really it hardly matters, because the crowds are loving him, and he will be performing nearly every day for the rest of the month, seven days in a massive cathedral on George IV Bridge, four days in my venue next to Edinburgh Castle, and multiple performances at live music venues around town. On Friday Aaron opened for a rock band at The Ark (a popular bar in the centre of town), and he was so well received that they invited him back to play every week for the rest of the month. He also has spots coming up on Festival FM radio and is getting a great response from everyone who has heard his album tracks online.

Click here to see why. I have also posted additional tracks on my Lit Fuse Records site, and advance copies of Butterfly Man are now available for mail order through PayPal. Soon he will be availably digitally as well as globally, but first we have this ancient city to infiltrate.

Here's the Lit Fuse link: As for me, I'm just getting ramped up, as I perform at the Fringe every night at 8:45 pm from now until August 26th, and then fly to Australia shortly after. It's surreal to be back here exactly three years after my first foray into the Fringe, but that first time I was wide-eyed and untutored in the guerilla arts. This time I have an arsenal of reviews, albums, books, and a team of new talent to showcase (four of us from Vancouver are sharing a flat here, including my brother and Geordie, who plays bass with Aaron). Many charges have been set to blow, but a lit fuse does not make an explosion on its own, so there are no guarantees. I'll keep you updated as events unfold here at the festival, and try to stay abreast of correspondence.

All the best from the powder keg,

Baba

PS - Here's a link to Aaron's press release if you want to see how we're pitching him. And a link to my press release if you want to know how we're pitching me. And here's a link to a recent story about my flat-mate Ryan, who is the Neo-Shakespeare to my Neo-Chaucer.

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7 pm, ride 7:15

Science World Gazebo

If you're a Chris, join us on this ride. If you're not a Chris but would like to be an honourary Chris for an evening, join us. If you just want to go for a ride, join us. Really, just come out for a ride, do you need an excuse? Come and see what it's like to be a Chris... hear your name constantly, meet as many Chris' as you can, find different ways of spelling Chris.

We're encouraging everyone to wear red, green, and/or something shiny. Name tags will be provided. Ride meets at 7 pm and leaves at 7:15 sharp from the Gazebo at Science World in Vancouver. We'll go on a ride on some of Chris' favourite routes and finish in a local drinking establishment. Discover if beer is really Chris' favourite drink. Good times.

Everyone welcome.

image from www.scottsdalepublicart.org

For more details, Visit This is Plan B

Calgary, Alberta is the home of Shaye, E! Channel's all-new original documentary series capturing the highs and lows of making it in the music business.

Shaye chronicles the behind-the-scenes journey of Kim Stockwood, Damhnait Doyle and Tara MacLean as they face life's everyday challenges, such as motherhood and dating on the road, while working to reach their dream of musical stardom. From filming videos to touring with the kids in tow, the pressure builds for the trio every day as they inch closer to gaining fame and fortune with the release of their second album Lake Of Fire.

From CanWest MediaWorks and Executive Producers, Ira Levy and Peter Williamson of Breakthrough Films & Television, this 4-part documentary makes its television debut September 9 on E!.

Image from www.cbc.ca

Quite a while back, I read an expired SHAPE magazine fitness article which asked its readers to submit their lowest daily exercise regime. The catch...? Contributors were to describe a 10 MINUTE routine they use that works. After the initial, What the ... ? wore off, the routines for a ten-minute workout remained, inviting us with their We are so EASY to perform, your great-granny could do this!

So as we slide into our end-of-summer state of denial (also known as We look good, so what’s another pound?) (We also surreptitiously turn our heads so as not to glimpse our expanding girth.) For variety's sake those of us in denial of those creeping-upon-us pounds may even offer up the tried but true Sure my weight is slightly up, but don’t forget the water/salt retention ‘scapegoat’.

Well, gang - it is time to rattle our comfort zones and insert a daily physical maintenance to ensure water retention doesn’t slowly creep in to that 20 pound 'oops!'. These following routines are fun, quick and use various muscle groups without tormenting them all, and great cardio is thrown in.

Swanktrendz has laid out a Monday through Friday sampling of 10 minute routines. Try it out. Stay with it for two weeks (without increasing food intake) and let us know how your experience was. (Please note, these routines require both gym apparatus and regular apparatus - feel free to alter the routines to suit your needs.)

Monday - (after warm up stretches) Do :

1 minute intense stationary riding bike,

2 minutes heavy leg press,

1 minute intense stair climbing,

2 minutes heavy arm press,

1 minute intense rowing,

2 minutes heavy hamstring lifts.

Don't take a break during these exchanges as the heart rate needs to remain at a healthy high. Stretch out (throw in 25 crunches)

Tuesday - (after warm up stretches) Do:

1 minutes of push-ups (ladies' form or mens' form)

2 minutes of jumping jacks

1 minute of push-ups,

2 minutes of crunches,

1 minute push ups.

2 minutes of jumping jacks.

1 minute of pushups,

Don’t take a break during these exchanges as the heart rate needs to remain at a healthy high. Stretch out (throw in 25 crunches)

Wednesday - (after warm up stretches) Do:

1 minute of jump rope,

3 minutes of fast line dancing (approx. one song).

1 minute of jump rope, and

3 minutes of fast line dancing.

End with 2 minutes of jump rope.

Don’t take a break during these exchanges as the heart rate needs to remain at a healthy high. Stretch out (throw in 25 crunches)

Thursday - (after warm up stretches) Do:

1 minute running in place.

2 minutes of elliptical trainer.

2 minutes running in place,

3 minutes of the elliptical trainer.

2 minutes running.Don't take a break during these exchanges as the heart rate needs to remain at a healthy high. Stretch out (throw in 25 crunches)

Friday - (after warm up stretches) Do:

2 minutes of jump rope,

1 minutes of leg extensions,

1 minute of intense jumping jacks,

1 minute of triceps pull downs,

1 minute of intense stair climber,

1 minute of hamstring curls,

1 minute of stationary bike,

and 2 minutes of rowing machine

Don't take a break during these exchanges as the heart rate needs to remain at a healthy high. Stretch out (throw in 25 crunches)

Mix up your days, or even mix up some of the routines between days. Now you have several mini exercise routines that you can perform withoutboredom or apathy. Imagine the sense of well being you will have for as little as ten minutes a day.

So I was listening to Hot For Teacher during my walk home yesterday, and it hit me (for the one-thousand, eighty-fourth time) what a killer fucking rock song.

The super-insaneo drum intro; Eddie's guitar at Face Melting levels by the thirty second mark; the classroom chatter; that other guitar part, and the awesome video. It's fucking perfect.

Then I was thinking, if Hot For Teacher really were a killer rock song, what kind of killer would it be?

That's easy. Crazy ninja assassin.

But then I realized 'No. That is incorrect.'

Ninja assassins, even the crazy ones, require a certain subtlety, a finesse if you will, to silently and gracefully slay their opponent with honor and dignity.

Hot For Teacher is more like a 6' 8" two headed Rambo, wearing a neon orange shag carpet tuxedo, with machine gun arms and cherry red Ferraris for legs.

Who is also on fire.

And yells 'WOOOOOOYEAAAAAHHHHH!!!' a lot.

Yeah. More like that.

Visit Mike Gillis

The band is wrapping a tour with Snow Patrol tonight and will perform at Sunset Junction on Sunday, August 19th in Silver Lake, CA.

image from indie-go.com

I realize I am indifferently oblivious to the regulations attached to the acquisition of online MP3s. After the Napster trial, and the introduction of itunes, I became aware the major music labels, and their artists, were pulling no stops when it came to ensuring their online music was being purchased, and thus hoping to end the peer file sharing, and general MP3 downloading.

It wasn't until I was watching MMM (Canada's equivalent of Muchmusic and the U.S.'s Mtv - for older listeners) when I caught a dated interview with Steven Page and Ed Robertson, of The Barenaked ladies, sharing their view of the arts community and its loathing of sharing / downloading music without artist compensation.

Here were musical artists explaining why they were releasing their latest musical ventures in the usb stick format. (You know that bluetooth PC accessory which holds a whack of information in its tiny frame?) This usb stick can be easily taken around from computer to computer, depending upon where the owner wishes to listen to it. Quite ingenious, and unlike computer files, this device could be carried and then uploaded, burned onto a cd, shared with a friend, or whatever.

I'm sure that to the chagrin of more militant artists, BNL acknowledges the self defeating, waste of dollars spent trying to find those teens or a grandmother who is ‘illegally’ downloading music to listen and share. With itunes and ipods being the trend du jour, it appears the traditional cd is going by the way of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, with exception to the initial rip of the original cd.

Now, how to replace the CDs? Ah yes, MP3 players; but they have their flaws, notably not allowing wireless downloads/transfers. Until ipods etc. can upgrade this problem, it appears USB memory sticks (bluetooths) are the way to go.

More and more artists (Barenaked Ladies in particular) have already had over a year under their belts releasing their recent musical ventures on USB memory sticks. This is a practical direction as usb sticks can store more music, videos, artwork, etc. than any compact disc.

I especially enjoyed the Barenaked Ladies' logic, (paraphrased) ... Our fans can purchase the usb stick and do what they wish with it. They now own the music on that stick. If that means downloading onto their computer, burning a cd, or lending it out to their friends, that's their choice as they bought, and subsequently own, the music...

Will the usb stick offerings outsource cds, et el? Most certainly because of the added value for the consumer's dollar. The multiple uses of the stick makes the idea pay for itself. The bluetooth is similar to the DVD movie by offering extra content and features. Of course, there will also be extra features that are not easily copied or pirated - hence the bluetooth must first be purchased to be fully appreciated. This is the area that BNL, and others, are hoping will lure the fans/consumers to actually purchase the blue tooth music format.

This new technology also shows how far behind the record companies are as they struggle to keep current with fans who are already capable of utilizing the usb stick, as well as sabotaging attempts to disallow general file sharing. General MP3 downloading is too difficult to monitor, and the record companies' opinion of myspace.com is that they (the labels) lose massive sales due to illegal downloads. (Yet, this is how upcoming bands must market themselves when no agent/label is stepping up to the plate. Once a band has received impressive hits, the label suddenly appears.)

It's time that more artists followed The Barenaked Ladies innovative lead and remember the true passion behind making music - to share with the masses.

Image from Wikipedia.com

Guard - Do you have any identification son?

Me - Right here.

Guard - And what business do you have in the United States today?

Me - I heard you guys have awesome burgers.

Guard - Son... is that an unlicenced handgun on your seat there?

Me - Wha...? Oh, this. Ha ha. No, this is a fake gun.

Guard - A fake gun?

Me -Yeah, it's not real. I carved it out of hash.

Visit Mike’s Blog

Gnome image taken at USA/Canada: www.birdwatchersdigest.com

I have to admit that I'm a sucker for hard-driving, balls to the wall rock n roll. I loved Smells Like Teen Spirit the first time I heard it because of the energy and vibe, and that's how I feel about this British group.

Thunderbird 13 is a hard rocking outfit from Newquay, Southwest England and man, do these guys rock. The influences are obvious, but there is a definite originality to this band. So as you're listening to the five tracks on their Myspace site, and you hear a bit of Motley Crue, Guns n Roses, even some Sabbath, you'll also realize this is no rip off act. They do have their own sound… there’s no redundancy here… well, not too much.

The guitar playing of Goffzilla is impressive from the get go… this guy plays as well as anyone I've heard… (no exaggeration).

After a couple of listens I detect a bit of Slash, Tony lommi, Mick Mars, even Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing (of Judas Priest). The fact that he is the vocalist, and an impressive one at that, makes me believe that we will be hearing about this lad, in a big way, sooner rather than later.

The drummer, Fatpaul, keeps a hard driving and steady beat through the tunes without being too flashy. He adds some excellent fills and double foot work when needed. He also appears to recognize that you can get more with less… and it works very well in the context of this band's sound.

The bass playing of Daniel Dawson is also top notch, most notably on House of Sin where his steady, thumping patter complements the song perfectly. He is a very capable and creative bass player… something all great bands require.

The tune Head n Tails sounds like You've Got Another Thing Coming, but that's more from the rhythmic similarities of the main guitar riffs of both songs. As Head n Tails progresses, it definitely comes into its own.

House of Sin is a total rocker and an absolute gem at that. I picture a smoky bar with a lot of rough and tumble tattooed patrons… this song would be right at home there.

Take or Leave It enables Fatpaul to showcase his drumming talents as he masterfully manoeuvres through an avalanche of rolls and steady driving beats. I like all five songs on the site, but this one stands out for its energy and originality.

Love Junky starts with a bluesy, southern feel to it but then transforms into a riff-laden rocker and continues to go back and forth between the two. At first I thought Raine Maida (of Our Lady Peace) was a guest vocalist as the vocal similarities are that close at times.

Rock n Roll (demo) is my least favourite on the site… it is the one tune that does ring of redundancy and even appears a bit sloppy at times. But hey, it is only a demo and I’m sure with a bit of work and effort it could rise up to the standard of the other four… or provide a half decent filler for a full length album.

So if hard driving rock along the lines of the Gunners, Sabbath, Priest, and the Crue are what you’re looking for, then do yourself a favour and check out Thunderbird 13 on their Myspace site. I'm sure you won’t be disappointed.

Thunderbird 13 can be found at Thunderbird 13.

Image from myspace.com

Image from www.joe-ks.com

Sometimes people head towards perceived destinations believing that all signs they encounter are pointing them in the right direction.

However, some people don't really know how to read those signs. They end up interpreting them wrongly, thus mistaking the warning signs for welcome signs.

And when they do reach the end of the journey, they find themselves lost and confused, and with nowhere else to go but back from where they came.

Some of these people make further attempts at this journey, again and again, hoping against hope.

While some never take on the open road again.

Visit Sashi

Image from www.deltapress.com

Trespassers will be:

shot

prosecuted to the full extent of the law

charlie horsed

assholes

haunted. forever

fondled

delighted

added to "the list"

shaved

filled with childlike whimsy

single?

disappointed

filmed and later masturbated to

surprised when they meet SecuroBot

painted, dried, scraped and repainted

delicious

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